Former world number one Andy Murray looked back at his best on the grass when he beat Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 to advance to the Stuttgart Open final after the Australian lost his temper in the second set. and said he was racially abused by a fan.
The final is the 70th of Murray’s career and the second of the year after finishing runner-up in Sydney in January. The 35-year-old will face second seed Matteo Berrettini, who is playing his first Tour final of the season.
Nick Kyrgios breaks a racket during the Stuttgart semifinals. Credit: Getty Images
After an entertaining first set where there was nothing to separate the two players, Murray sealed him in the tiebreaker, after which Kyrgios broke his racket and won a points penalty as well as a game penalty in the second set.
The Australian, who constantly complained to the referee, then refused to continue playing, sitting in his chair until the supervisor came out and convinced him to end the match.
A frustrated Kyrgios later said he had retaliated after hearing a racial insult.
“When will this stop? Dealing with the racial insults of the crowd?” He wrote on Instagram.
“I understand that my behavior is not the best all the time, but ‘black sheep’, ‘shut up and play’ – small comments like this are not acceptable.
“When I retaliate against the crowd, they punish me. This is messy. “